Is caffeine intake a risk factor leading to infertility? A protocol of an epidemiological systematic review of controlled clinical studies

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that high dose of caffeine intake may induce some specific human reproductive system diseases, even lead to infertility. OBJECTIVES: In consideration of the high consumption of caffeine according to the latest population-based survey, this review is aimed to systematically review the evidence from all controlled clinical studies of caffeine intake for infertility. DESIGNS: Relevant randomized/quasi-randomized controlled trials, non-randomized clinical studies, cohort studies, and case-control studies will be included in this review. Participants will be either those without a history of infertility who are willing to have a baby (for prospective studies) or infertile patients with confirmed diagnosis (for retrospective studies). Caffeine or caffeine-containing beverage will be observed as the exposure factor. The key outcome will be the diagnosis of infertility in participants. All relevant published/unpublished or ongoing studies will be searched from seven databases and four online systems until December 2015. Two authors will screen the literatures and extract the data independently. Methodological quality of the included studies will be assessed by two authors according to either Risk of Bias Assessment or Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We will use R software to analyze the data. Dose of caffeine will be quantified on a daily basis, and relative risk with their 95 % confidence interval will be measured. If data permit, meta-analysis and dose-response analysis will be conducted. Summary of findings tables will be generated using Guideline Development Tool online. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42015015714 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-016-0221-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.